A Golden Hill
by The Stranger Curiosities
Summary: Jaime finds a girl who's so undeniably a Lannister bastard even Tywin sees value in her. Tywin wants her married off and away from him as soon as possible. As valuable as she is, her very presence revives a ghost of his past.
1. Prologue

Tywin Lannister: A formidable man who just a few hours ago had an important conversation with his son while he was skinning a deer. At the moment, he was brooding over plans to punish the Riverlands for their kidnap of his son, Tyrion.

The conversation that played out those hours ago took an interesting twist Tywin had hoped it wouldn't.

"Did you get my letter, father?" Jaime asked. Tywin knew the letter in question.

"I did." He said curtly.

"And you show no interest in this girl?"

"Have I ever shown an interest in bastards?"

"Never, but most bastard girls do not so clearly have Lannister blood coloring their cheeks."

"Is she a whore like her mother? If so, those cheeks are not colored naturally" Tywin scoffed.

"No, and her mother was not a whore in the sense of brothels and rogue. I would have never taken her on as a servant, even more so mention her to you if she was. Her mother was a widow who was bedded by a Lannister after he took fancy."

"Perhaps she is Tyrion's bastard and the reason you were able to tell so tell was her disfigurement." Tywin said cruelly.

"No, she looks rather like someone we both used to know." Jaime hinted, knowing he just played a crueler hand.

Tywin paused, his glare like dragon fire, the golden flecks in his eyes molten with rage. He didn't say another word until he, without raising his voice, ordered his son away in a muted snarl.

What game was Jaime trying to play here? Tywin was too busy rescuing his degenerate dwarf of a son for stupid things like bastards with green eyes and blonde hair.

But all the same, Jaime's words intrigued him. A Lannister bastard so undeniably Lannister that she was called 'golden Hill' by the smallfolk, or at least that's what Jaime had written him. A bastard that looked like someone both he and Jaime used to know.

He knew what Jaime meant, it was an unexpected emotional dagger. Tywin never remarried after his late wife passed. He loved her. Hearing of this lowly bastard that dared to look like his Joanna filled him with both rage and curiosity.

He wanted to meet the girl so he could cut her throat for being a wicked apparition sent from the seven hells to taunt him. She was serving his son, she was so close by, she would be helpless to his wrath.

But he knew he had uses for such a bastard.

Tywin sent for Jaime, who, to Tywin's displeasure, took forty minutes to arrive, interrupting his council meeting fifteen minutes in, one he also expected Jaime to attend.

"You're late." Tywin said, looking unhappy, but his voice wasn't raised.

"I apologize father." It was all Jaime said before taking his seat next to Tywin.

The council the continued for two more hours without anymore interruptions. Tywin kept his son behind while his other men retired to their own tents.

"I will meet this bastard servant you speak of. If what you say is true, that she is a virgin with undeniably Lannister blood, then it was wise of you to employ her to serve us. How old is the bastard?" Tywin asked.

"Nearly seventeen." Jaime answered.

"What is the occupation you gave her?" Tywin asked.

"Mending clothes primarily, it was the one of the few feminine jobs I did not deem to be below her." Jaime explained. Tywin found his son's apparent respect for a common girl odd.

"Does she really resemble your late mother?"

"From her hair to her genteel manner."

"From what you tell me, you have found a pretty virgin bastard girl of a ripe age to marry. She might not be stuck repairing torn banners and cloaks after all. If all you say is true, we will claim her as Tyrion's bastard, and she will no longer be nameless, but will adorn the bastard name of Hill. Though she is a bastard, she is of Lannister blood, and if she can be quickly educated, she will have bastards and lords alike wanting her hand."

"She is literate and educated in the womanly arts. Her brother is a successful lumber merchant and she lives a more comfortable life than many of the smallfolk. She's 'middle class,' if you will." Jaime paused for a moment. "Your sudden interest in her is most unexpected of you, father." Jaime said. He truly was shocked Tywin was willing to take that much of an interest.

"If she is as you say, then she must be taken in. If people are truly so bold as to call her 'golden Hill' in their gossip, it looks poorly on our house for not claiming such an obvious bastard."

"I will bring her to you at noon." Jaime said.

"Dawn." Tywin demanded.

"Yes, father." Jaime said, he was about to leave before his father spoke again.

"What is the bastard girl's name?"

"Isolde." Jaime said before retiring to his tent.

Isolde: A beautiful, virtuous, well mannered bastard girl with golden hair, emerald eyes, and lion's blood blushing her cheeks. Her half brother was a well-off merchant.

Tywin saw a potential alliance.


	2. Chapter 1

Isolde was dreaming when she was roused from her sleep. Her eyelids lazily fluttered before her vision was clear enough to show Ser Jaime at her bedside. She sat up immediately and pulled her blanket over her clothed chest.

"Good morning, Ser Jaime, what brings you here?"

"You will be meeting my father in an hour, use that hour to make yourself look presentable" The Lannister instructed before leaving. She rose from her bed and began grooming herself, starting with washing her face from steaming water in a basin Jaime seemed to have provided.

She chose a modest, dark blue muslin gown, the finest she had with her. Isolde stared at herself in the mirror as she undid her hip length, thick golden hair from its braid. She did her hair into a casual, but neat arrangement.

She would've never expected to end up in this situation. Her? A potential Lannister bastard? It was too much for Isolde when she dwelled on the thought.

She knew there were whispers, but the fact Ser Jaime Lannister saw what many others did was overwhelming. Her mother once refused to tell her about her father, but after Ser Jaime came knocking at their door, he was convinced she was a Lannister bastard.

Isolde picked her fashion carefully. She picked it in hopes of not incurring the hatred of Lord Tywin. She kept it modest and elegant, she knew he hated whores with a passion; It was something he had in common with her older half brother, Bauwyr, who oversaw that there was nothing in Isolde's wardrobe that would call his sister's virtue into question.

She also knew Tywin could care less for bastards, the fact he was willing to meet her was a striking honor. She would write to her mother and brother immediately after. She silently recited something her years of education prepared her for, how to greet a high lord. Her brother hoped for a day like this to come where he would gain more customers than lower lords, Isolde knew if she were to be in Lord Tywin's good graces, it could make her family much wealthier. This introduction was the most important event in her life so far, and she was given only an hour to prepare.

Regardless of the lack of time, she made it work.

See Jaime came back into the tent and was met with a small curtsey from Isolde.

"Is Lord Tywin ready for me, Ser Jaime?" Isolde asked. She was composed as ever, she knew that keeping her nerves in check would impress the Lannisters.

"Yes, I will escort you there." Ser Jaime said, offering her his arm. Isolde smiled and took his arm, and thanked him before the pair exited her tent.

The morning air was cool on Isolde's fair skin. She remembered her younger years, when her family was poorer. She was a small, scrawny, bronzed, freckled girl with wild blonde hair, her green eyes standing out from her dirty, tanned skin. Even when her skin was kissed by the sun, the gossip of her Lannister origins were there. Since her brother became wealthier, her skin got progressively paler. Her smallfolk origins were tamed by her septa and brother's demands that she would be genteel as a highborn lady.

Their efforts worked: Isolde did not miss those early years. As if she were clay, she was worked and manipulated until she developed finely into a graceful woman.

Some Lannister guards looked at her as a lovely curiosity, but now they were staring as that lovely curiosity was being escorted by the Kingslayer.

Upon arrival to Lord Tywin's tent, Ser Jaime paused, giving Isolde the opportunity to mentally prepare herself. She looked at Ser Jaime, gave him a nod, and the two strode into the tent.

Jaime had been nervous about his father's reaction, but nothing could've prepared for what his father was about to say the moment his eyes met Isolde's.

"That's a Lannister bastard if I ever saw one." Was the first thing out of his mouth. Lord Tywin's features or tone didn't express disbelief, but Ser Jaime knew by his father's words that he was absolutely dumbfounded.

Ser Jaime let Isolde go, she took a couple steps forward and gave Tywin a low curtsey, her neck craned so she was looking at the floor, she held her position for some time before returning. Her curtsey was perfect, Jaime noted to himself, seeing a light flicker in his father's eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time.

He also noticed the slightest misting of his lord father's eyes. It faded quickly, but such things were never seen.

"Lord Tywin, there are no words to describe how honored I am to be in your presence." Isolde said. Lord Tywin walked up to her, looking her deep in the eyes, she had Joanna's eyes, she had Joanna's everything except for actually being Joanna.

"Isolde, Ser Jaime and I believe that you are the bastard daughter of my son, Lord Tyrion. We have a decree for your bastardy right here." Lord Tywin said as he strode to his desk, taking out some parchment and signing the area that was supposed to be Tyrion's signature. Isolde couldn't believe her eyes, she was watching Lord Tywin Lannister forge a document and she hadn't even known him for five minutes. "From this day forward, you will be known as Isolde Hill, the bastard daughter of Lord Tyrion Lannister. I will also assure that you and your family are under the protection of House Lannister. As for trade with your half brother, I have sent a raven to King's Landing giving the King and Master of Coin a recommendation as to who to purchase lumber from."

Isolde stood still, shocked, but overflowing with absolute joy. How far she had come from her smallfolk origins, now she was proclaimed Lord Tyrion Lannister's bastard, and she just made her brother a very wealthy man.

"My lord, I cannot thank you enough. May the seven bless you, my lord!" Isolde said, her face beaming with joy.

"Don't thank me until you've met your father, remember, he's a drunken imp who abandoned you." Lord Tywin said in a successful attempt to seem stoic. This bastard girl mirrored Joanna to the point it was like her smiles were those of his late wife.

"Lord Tywin, whatever vices my father may have, I am finally to meet him, I am finally to be united with my father and become an official bastard of the noble House Lannister from which he was bred from. I am forever grateful!" Isolde said to Lord Tywin, there was true happiness in her voice, it was not flattery.

"You will not he forced to mend clothes any longer, you will be attending to mine and my son's domestic needs. As you are now officially a member of the family, you will enjoy privileges most bastards could never dream of, but you will also be required to follow orders and put in your share of the work. Is this understood?" Tywin asked, looking his bastard granddaughter straight in the eyes as if sizing her up.

"Absolutely, my lord, I will work harder than I will play, I am accustomed to it. My brother is righteously strict and has taught me a great deal." Isolde replied, as if not affected by Tywin's gaze (she was, she was secretly terrified of the eyes of her lord grandfather, but she dared not let it show.)

"I am glad to hear it." Tywin said, a brief pause following, his voice slightly booming. "Now, you will command several men from the Lannister guard to move your tent between mine and Ser Jaime's, if they attempt to give you any disrespect, come back and Ser Jaime will sort them out."

"I will do so at once, thank you, my lord." Isolde said before her exeunt, hoping she would be taken seriously.

Tywin, meanwhile, gave Jaime what almost looked like a defeated look.

"You were not exaggerating a damn thing." Tywin said to his son. He poured himself some wine and sat down at his desk. "After she meets Tyrion, I will be arranging her marriage as soon as possible to the highest bidder. That girl could easily attract the attention of someone second or third in line for the lordship, perhaps even a lord himself."

"If Tyrion were to not consent to the match?" Jaime asked.

"He will, he won't be wanting to care for the bastard, it seems like her brother has done that job for Tyrion, and a better job of it. If Tyrion won't consent, then he'll not only have me to deal with, he'll have her brother, and potentially, her."

"You haven't known your granddaughter for five minutes and you're already seeing a prize broodmare, aren't you?" Jaime snapped.

"She is nearly 17, she is in her prime, if she is not wed soon, there could be problems. I assume by her demeanor that she is the kind of woman who will enjoy marriage and brining children into the world."

"You want her away from you in case you give her your incestuous bastard." Jaime muttered under his breath.

"I heard that." Tywin said, he clearly wasn't impressed. "You are the last person who should be pointing fingers when it comes to incestuous bastards, hmm?"

Jaime had nothing to say in response, his three inbred bastards were destined to sit on the Iron Throne. The throne seemed to crave inbred kings, it was no matter whether he was Targaryen or Lannister.

"Regardless of how much she looks like her grandmother, I can assure you that I am not in love with her. I will kill any man who does so much as look at her licentiously, and I'll be damned sure that her husband will be honorable."

"Lady Isolde Hill has the rare privilege of being a woman with the protection of Lord Tywin of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West." Jaime said with a hint of sarcasm. "You realize Robert Baratheon beats your daughter."

"Your sister wanted to be queen, so I married her to the king. What went on from there was out of my control. Isolde's future will remain in my hands even after she is married."

Jaime glared at his father before storming out of the tent just as Lady Hill returned. She ascertained Jaime's quick strides and angry air for a moment before focusing on Lord Tywin, her grandfather.

"My tent is currently being moved, my lord, what else do you require of me?"

Tywin gave the girl a rare smile, he liked her already.


End file.
